Herring Point takes its name from Battery Herring, which housed two 6-inch guns during World War II as part of the United States coastal defense. At the close of that war and during the Cold War, the site was used for top secret military tests and operations. By 1944, the army was testing a proximity fuze at Battery Herring, a mechanical or electrical device that causes a military explosive to detonate; when attached to an artillery shell, it emitted radio waves that reflected off a target and exploded the shell when it came within a pre-set range. In 1946, Battery Herring was a testing site for the U.S. Navy's Bumblebee ramjet rocket, a forerunner of surface-to-air anti-aircraft missiles, and as many as 83 rockets were launched from this area to test their capabilities. Battery Herring was originally covered in sand to protect it from attack, and the same type of 6-inch gun placed here is shown in a photo of nearby Battery Hunter. In 1963, Battery Herring was one of 11 sites used to spy on Soviet submarines during the Cold War; a cable stretching 104 miles out to sea and equipped with 40 hydrophones, or underwater microphones, monitored sounds used to detect and determine submarine positions. The U.S. military turned the land over to the State of Delaware in 1983, allowing visitors to enjoy the site in Cape Henlopen State Park.